Ad features vets who claim Kerry "lied" to get Vietnam medals. But one accuser quickly recants, and other witnesses disagree. August 6, 2004 Modified: August 6, 2004

A group funded by the biggest Republican campaign donor in Texas began running an attack ad Aug. 5 in which former Swift Boat veterans claim Kerry lied to get one of his two decorations for bravery and two of his three purple hearts. However, one of the veterans who appears in the ad has already recanted his principal accusation against Kerry, in an interview with the Boston Globe

Some other veterans who accuse Kerry are contradicted by Kerry's former crewmen. One of the accusers says he was on another boat "a few yards" away during the incident which won Kerry the Bronze Star, but the former Army lieutenant whom Kerry plucked from the water that day backs Kerry's account.

Analysis

"Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" is a group formed March 23 after Kerry wrapped up the Democratic nomination. It held a news conference May 4 denigrating Kerry's military record and his later anti-war pronouncements during the 1970's. The group began running an attack ad Aug. 5 in which 13 veterans variously say Kerry is "not being honest" and "is lying about his record."

SBVT Ad "Any Questions?"

John Edwards: "If you have any questions about what John Kerry is made of, just spend 3 minutes with the men who served with him."

(On screen: Here's what those men this of John Kerry)

Al French: I served with John Kerry.

Bob Elder : I served with John Kerry.

George Elliott: John Kerry has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam.

Al French: He is lying about his record.

Louis Letson: I know John Kerry is lying about his first Purple Heart because I treated him for that injury.

Van O'Dell: John Kerry lied to get his bronze star...I know, I was there, I saw what happened.

Jack Chenoweth: His account of what happened and what actually happened are the difference between night and day.

Admiral Hoffman: John Kerry has not been honest.

Adrian Lonsdale: And he lacks the capacity to lead.

Larry Thurlow: When he chips were down, you could not count on John Kerry.

Bob Elder: John Kerry is no war hero.

Grant Hibbard: He betrayed all his shipmates...he lied before the Senate.

Shelton White: John Kerry betrayed the men and women he served with in Vietnam.

Joe Ponder: He dishonored his country...he most certainly did.

Bob Hildreth: I served with John Kerry...

Bob Hildreth (off camera) : John Kerry cannot be trusted.

There is reason to doubt the ad . For one thing, one of the men who appears in it, George Elliott, told the Boston Globe he had made a "terrible mistake" by accusing Kerry of not deserving one of his awards. Elliott appears in the ad saying "John Kerry has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam." Another reason for doubt is that the group's financing is strongly partisan.

Where the Money Comes From

The source of the Swift Boat group's financing wasn't known when it first surfaced, but a report filed July 15 with the Internal Revenue Services now shows its initial funding came mainly from a Houston home builder, Bob R. Perry, who has also given millions to the Republican party and Republican candidates, mostly in Texas, including President Bush and Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay, whose district is near Houston.

Perry gave $100,000 of the $158,750 received by the Swift Boat group through the end of June, according to its disclosure report .

Perry and his wife Doylene also gave more than $3 million to Texas Republicans during the 2002 elections, according to a database maintained by the Institute on Money in State Politics . The Perrys also were among the largest Republican donors in neighboring Louisiana, where they gave $200,000, and New Mexico, where they gave $183,000, according to the database

At the federal level the Perrys have given $359,825 since 1999, including $6,000 to Bush's campaigns and $27,325 to DeLay and his political action committee, Americans for a Republican Majority, according the a database maintained by the Center for Responsive Politics .

"A Terrible Mistake"

Several of those who appear in the ad have signed brief affidavits, and we have posted some of them in the "supporting documents" section to the right for our visitors to evaluate for themselves. However, one of those affidavits already has been recanted by the man who signed it, Lieutenant Commander George Elliott, who had been Kerry's commanding officer. Elliott was quoted by the Boston Globe Aug 6 as saying he had made a "terrible mistake" in signing the affidavit against Kerry.

George Elliott: It was a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words. I'm the one in trouble here. . . . I knew it was wrong . . . In a hurry I signed it and faxed it back. That was a mistake.

The statement Elliott now says was wrong had suggested that Kerry did not deserve the Silver Star -- his highest decoration -- which was awarded for an incident in which Kerry beached his boat and then pursued and killed an enemy soldier on the shore. Elliott had previously defended Kerry on that score when his record was questioned during his 1996 Senate campaign. At that time Elliott came to Boston and said Kerry acted properly and deserved the Silver Star.

It was Elliott who recommended Kerry both for the Silver Star and for the Bronze Star, his other decoration for valor. Despite recanting his affidavit regarding the Silver Star, Elliott told the Globe he has come to believe Kerry didn't deserve the second award, based on what the other anti-Kerry veterans have told him.

Elliott: I have chosen to believe the other men. I absolutely do not know first hand.

The Bronze Star & Third Purple Heart

The most serious allegation in the ad is that Kerry received both the Bronze Star, his second-highest decoration, and his third purple heart, which allowed him to be sent home early, under false pretenses.

Van O'Dell, a former Navy enlisted man who says he was the gunner on another Swift Boat, states in his affidavit that he was "a few yards away" from Kerry's boat on March 13, 1969 when Kerry pulled one of his crewmen from the water. According to the official medal citations, Kerry's boat was under enemy fire at the time, and Kerry had been wounded when an enemy mine exploded near his own boat.O'Dell insists "there was no fire" at the time, adding: "I did not hear any shots, nor did any hostile fire hit any boats" other than his own, PCF-3.

Others in the ad back up that account. Jack Chenoweth, who was a Lieutenant (junior grade) commanding PCF-3, said Kerry's boat "fled the scene" after a mine blast disabled PCF-3, and returned only later "when it was apparent that there was no return fire." And Larry Thurlow, who says he commanded a third Swift Boat that day, says "Kerry fled while we stayed to fight," and returned only later "after no return fire occurred."

Kerry Ad "Heart"

John Kerry: I was born in Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Colorado, my dad was serving in the Army air corps. Both of my parents taught me about public service. I enlisted because I believed in service to country. I thought it was important, if you had a lot of privileges as I had had, to go to a great university like Yale, that you give something back to your country.

Del Sandusky: The decisions that he made saved our lives.

Jim Rassmann: When he pulled me out of the river, he risked his life to save mine.

Narrator: For more than 30 years John Kerry has served America.

Vanessa Kerry: If you look at my father's time and service to this country, whether it has been a veteran, prosecutor, or Senator, he has shown an ability to fight for things that matter.

Teresa Kerry: John is the face of someone who is hopeful, who is generous of spirit, and of heart.

John Kerry : We're a country of optimists...we're the can-do people, and we just need to believe in ourselves again.

Narrator: A lifetime of service and strength: John Kerry for President.

None of those in the attack ad by the Swift Boat group actually served on Kerry's boat. And their statements are contrary to the accounts of Kerry and those who served under him.

Jim Rassmann was the Army Special Forces lieutenant whom Kerry plucked from the water. Rassmann has said all along that he was under sniper fire from both banks of the river when Kerry, wounded, helped him aboard. Rassmann is featured in an earlier Kerry ad, in fact, (see script at left) saying "he (Kerry) risked his life to save mine."

The Kerry campaign put Rassmann and some of Kerry's former crewmen on a conference call with reporters to rebut the new ad.Gene Thorson told reporters, "These assertions are garbage; these people weren't there with John Kerry."

The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth further says Kerry didn't deserve his third purple heart, which was received for shrapnel wounds in left buttocks and contusions on right forearm. The affidavits state that the wound in Kerry's backside happened earlier that day in an accident. "Kerry inadvertently wounded himself in the fanny," Thurlow said in his affidavit, "by throwing a grenade too close (to destroy a rice supply) and suffered minor shrapnel wounds."

The grenade incident is actually supported by Kerry's own account, but the shrapnel wound was only part of the basis for Kerry's third purple heart according to official documents. The evidence here is contradictory.

Kerry's account is in the book Tour of Duty by Douglas Brinkley, who based it largely on Kerry's own Vietnam diaries and 12 hours of interviews with Kerry. "I got a piece of small grenade in my ass from one of the rice-bin explosions and then we started to move back to the boats," Kerry is quoted as saying on page 313. In that account, Kerry says his arm was hurt later, after the mine blast that disabled PCF-3, when a second explosion rocked his own boat. "The concussion threw me violently against the bulkhead on the door and I smashed my arm," Kerry says on page 314.

And according to a Navy casualty report released by the Kerry campaign, the third purple heart was received for "shrapnel wounds in left buttocks and contusions on his right forearm when a mine detonated close aboard PCF-94," Kerry's boat. As a matter of strict grammar, the report doesn't state that both injuries were received as a result of the mine explosion, only the arm injury.

The official citation for Kerry's Bronze Star refers only to his arm injury, not to the shrapnel wound to his rear. It says he performed the rescue "from an exposed position on the bow, his arm bleeding and in pain." The description of Kerry's arm "bleeding" isn't consistent with the description of a "contusion," or bruise.

In any case, even a "friendly fire" injury can qualify for a purple heart "as long as the 'friendly' projectile or agent was released with the full intent of inflicting damage or destroying enemy troops or equipment," according to the website of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. All agree that rice was being destroyed that day on the assumption that it otherwise might feed Viet Cong fighters.

Another major discrepancy raises a question of how close Kerry's accusers actually were to the rescue of Rassmann. Tour of Duty describes Rassmann's rescue (and the sniper fire) as happening "several hundred yards back" from where the crippled PCF-3 was lying, not "a few yards away," the distance from which the anti-Kerry veterans claim to have witnessed the incident.

In his affidavit, Letson says Kerry's wound was self-inflicted and does not merit a purple heart. But that's based on hearsay, and disputed hearsay at that. Letson says &#8220;the crewman with Kerry told me there was no hostile fire, and that Kerry had inadvertently wounded himself with an M-79 grenade.&#8221; But the Kerry campaign says the two crewmen with Kerry that day deny ever talking to Letson.

Also appearing in the ad is Grant Hibbard, Kerry&#8217;s commanding officer at the time. Hibbard&#8217;s affidavit says that he &#8220;turned down the Purple Heart request,&#8221; and recalled Kerry's injury as a "tiny scratch less than from a rose thorn."

Hibbard also told the Boston Globe in an interview in April 2004 that he eventually acquiesced about granting Kerry the purple heart.

Hibbard: I do remember some questions on it. . .I finally said, OK if that's what happened. . . do whatever you want

Kerry got the first purple heart after Hibbard left to return to the US .

McCain Speaks Up

Sen. John McCain -- who has publicly endorsed Bush and even appealed for donations to the President's campaign -- came to Kerry's defense on this. McCain didn't witness the events in question, of course. But he told the Associated Press in an August 5 interview:

McCain : I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable. As it is none of these individuals served on the boat (Kerry) commanded. Many of his crewmates have testified to his courage under fire. I think John Kerry served honorably in Vietnam.

At this point, 35 years later and half a world away, we see no way to resolve which of these versions of reality is closer to the truth.

Seth Goldman earned his B.A. in political communication at George Washington University. He joined the Annenberg Public Policy Center in June, 2004 with previous experience as journalist, press relations assistant, and media researcher. He has worked at the Committee for a Democratic Majority and at Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's campaign committee. At GWU he founded and edited Sticks & Stones, an independent, student-run progressive newsmagazine.

I find personal and professional offense at the use of the phrase "alternative lifestyles" in the Feb. 17 article "Jews Discuss Alternative Lifestyles" (Web Extra).

First, nowhere is a member of the participating organizations cited using that phrase. In fact, journalistic norms require using the identification of the speaker and not imposing the prejudicial title of the writer. If The Hatchet was unsure of which phrase to use, it should have asked a spokesperson.

Second, the phrase violates the tenets of the official Associated Press Stylebook, which The Hatchet abides by - at least it did when I was a staff writer there two years ago. The AP states, "Avoid references to gay, homosexual or alternative 'lifestyle.'" Moreover, the AP recommends using the terms "gay" and "lesbian" and not "homosexual," which was also used in the article.

Your biased "fact checking" doesnt connect the funding to the Republican Party, nor the RNC. Nor does it provide an explanation for why Kerry refuses to open his Military records (like Bush did) or how someone who was 4 months in country, can amass three purple hearts, a silver star, and a bronze star, all without stepping foot in a hospital.

For one thing, one of the men who appears in it, George Elliott, told the Boston Globe he had made a "terrible mistake" by accusing Kerry of not deserving one of his awards.

Which turns out to be a bit of clever obfuscation by Democratically funded Boston Globe "reporter" Michael Kranish. Click here for an analysis of how he used selective quoting to create a completely deceptive story. Interesting how the Annenberg people seem to have missed this part of the controversy entirely. Guess some facts are too good to check.

I woke up in the middle of the night just totally pissed about this. Does John Kerry have the sole right to be labelled a war hero just because he went into public office? What about these men? They performed the same duties as JFK but aren't trumpeting it around on their shoulder saying, "look at me, I'm a war hero!" This is total BS and the elites in the media should be ashamed. These vets are getting the same treatment they received upon returning home. It is so disgustingly shameful that all these media goons are gushing over Kerry and his war heroism and then when these men come forward they are called Republican shills. Talk about a double standard. THE MEDIA MAKES ME SICK!

18
posted on 08/07/2004 7:56:54 AM PDT
by Wphile
(Keep the UN out of Iraq)

Why haven't I seen articles about the Leftist Liberal Democrat funded ads from places like moveon.org?

To keep their 'non-partisan' beard intact, they have an aritcle on one of MoveOn's internet ads. Of course, nowhere in the article is the source of MoveOn's funding mentioned or is the source of that funding given as a reason to doubt the ad.

Absolutely! I went to the link for the email addy to contact them and quickly sent them an email to please check all the *facts* before they report the *facts* which are misleading. That if they did a little research before presenting *facts* they would have known that Elliot said Kranis and the Globe misquoted him and that he did NOT recant or retract his statement.

E-mail this information and the quotes from Swift Boat Veterans for Truth from the initial press conference to as many people as you can. Ask them to e-mail it to their friends. With few exceptions, the mainstream media is trying to ignore our story. We need the help of every American to prompt Senator Kerry to disclose what he did and did not do in Vietnam, and the importance of all this to our country.

If Senator Kerrys claims about his military service are true, then he has no reason to further delay fully disclosing his records since the missing documents will support those claims.

But in fact his claims are not true. We were there. We saw what did and did not happen, and we intend to set the record straight.

Goals are to restore honor of Vietnam vets; Rebut John Kerrys unanswered lies; Bring the truth about Kerrys service to the public (May 4-Washington, D.C.) Today, a group of Swift Boat veterans from the unit in which Senator John Kerry served announced the formation of an organization, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The organization has been formed in order to bring the truth about Kerry to the American people. The organization intends to discuss Kerrys war crimes charges, Kerrys record and to request that Kerry authorize the Department of Defense to release the originals and the complete files relating to his military service and medical military records.

The group released a historic letter expressing the overwhelming opposition of those who served with Kerry or in his unit to his misrepresentation of his record and the units record. The letter is signed by Swift Boat veterans at all levels and from the entire political spectrum; the entire chain of command during the period Kerry served in Vietnam; veterans who participated in the engagements resulting in his medals; and the majority of officers who served with him in Coastal Division 11, the unit in which he spent most of his four month tour of duty. Public circulation of the letter began one week ago and collected hundreds of signatures. The signers already make up a majority of the Swift Vets whose addresses can be found. The complete record of signers and comments will be posted on Swiftvets.com.

Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann, USN (retired), Commander of Coastal Surveillance Force Vietnam (Commander Task Force 115) and chair of the group said, I signed this letter because I do not believe John Kerry is fit to be the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States. This is not a political issue. It is a matter of his judgment, truthfulness, reliability, loyalty and trust - all absolute tenets of command.

We dont understand why Kerry would make the centerpiece of his campaign an exaggerated account of his four month service in Vietnam 33 years ago, but since he is, we believe the American public is entitled to the truth about his service and about his charges about war crimes and atrocities, explained John ONeill, a Swift Boat veteran who took charge of Kerrys boat a few months after Kerrys departure and who debated Kerry in 1971.

The Swift Boat Vets for Truth include the entire chain of command above Kerry: Lt. Commander Grant Hibbard, Lt. Commander Elliott, Captain Charles Plumly, Captain Adrian Lonsdale USCG (retired) and Rear Admiral Hoffmann (retired), as well as enlisted men, officers, men who served with Mr. Kerry, men who served in the same group of Swift boats and men intimately familiar with the operations and conduct of Swift boat operations during the war. The group also includes James Zumwalt, Lt. Colonel, U.S.M.C. (retired), representing his father, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, and brother, Lt. Elmo Zumwalt III, both deceased.

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is a Special Purpose Political Action Committee.

Yes. One of their two researchers, Seth Goldman, worked "at Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's campaign committee."

Here's some information on Brooks Jackson, the Director of Annenberg Political Fact Check

Brooks Jackson is a journalist who covered Washington and national politics for 32 years, reporting in turn for The Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal and CNN. At CNN he pioneered the "adwatch" and "factcheck" form of stories debunking false and misleading political statements starting with the Presidential election of 1992. His investigative reporting for The AP and the Journal won several national awards. He is the author of two books: Honest Graft: Big Money and the American Political Process (Knopf, 1988) and Broken Promise: Why the Federal Election Commission Failed (Twentieth Century Fund: 1990).

Hmmmmmmmmm. Didn't I see the Annenberg Center described as 'non-partisan' on another post this morning? At the very least, they should do some more 'fact-checking'. They seem to have left out a few here.

And according to a Navy casualty report released by the Kerry campaign, the third purple heart was received for "shrapnel wounds in left buttocks and contusions on his right forearm when a mine detonated close aboard PCF-94," Kerry's boat. As a matter of strict grammar, the report doesn't state that both injuries were received as a result of the mine explosion, only the arm injury.

I think the buttocks wound was when Kerry thew a grenade into a small boat filled with rice and he got too close. The arm injury occurred when he was thrown against the bulkhead of his pilot house as the mine exploded. If I have the story correct.

If American Dino-Media was actually ethical and principled stories like this would be of no matter. The problem is the standards reporters (and headline writers) apply to their reporting vary greatly between coverage of liberals and conservatives.

Harken back to the (still-running but totally-refuted) Bush-AWOL non-story. A story which first was made 'credible' by the likes of 'Lumpy Riefenstahl,' AKA Michael Moore, then covered to death by the usual suspects at the NYT, NBC, ABC, CBS, and the rest.

No mention is made, or is not made that 'the story'against Bush is being advanced by partisan elements. No, the media picks them up as though they have merit (despite having already investigated them in 2000).

Now consider that triple-draft-dodger, William the Impeached received scant mainstream press investigation into his military records.

Bottom Line: Big News is in a Death-Spiral, and may not ever fully recover. Its too easy to pick them apart. Their operations will continue to shrink unless they can be subsidized. And the only thing going for them is if they can convince the US body politic to return some of their democrat allies to positions of power.

Free Republic and other sites like it is where this is all taking place. We are laying bare the big lie that supposedly objective media is truly unbiased.

Yesterday a post was made stating that the gentleman you say retracted his statement actually did not retract it. Someone better get their facts straight.

Yes. But, we may have to wait until Monday, for them to correct their mistake.

I'll bet the Networks use this Factcheck web page to bolster the "facts" they broadcast this weekend. They will do that even though they know Elliot was not really recanting his statement.

If I understand correctly (thanks to what I've learned on FR) Elliot was merely making clear, in his second statement, that Kerry's and Kranish's published story says Kerry shot the young man in the back.

Elliot has no first hand knowledge of the event and is relying on Kerry's own admission for this version of Kerry's story.

Don't expect them to correct the facts. They have their lie and they will run with it. Right out of the Dem play book. With them it is not, "lie often enough and the lie takes on the ring of truth." It is lie once, the media will report it and then forever quote it.

We all know about the use of half-truths, deceptive labels, out of context quotes by the "impartial, unbiased" media. They are so afraid to let the American people see all the actual facts and decide for themselves the truth. I have no doubts that John Kerry LIED then and is LYING now. My experiences lead me to this conclusion. John Kerry's actions confirm my conclusions. Look at his voting record in congress, that is when he decided it important for himself to be in attendance. Look at his actions when he was in country and came back to the states. At every step he has fought any program to protect and defend the American people. Look deeply at his record, go back further to his youth and work forward, looking closely at every thing that happened before he "volunteered" to join the navy. Do not discount any thing you see as minor, all activities he perpetuated may no longer be in full view. His money has allowed him to bury events in his past, but he has missed things. I challenge you all to dig and dig deeply. Do this to benefit all Americans, not just a few. Time is short. Godspeed to all.

Annenberg has a reputable name, which is trashed by this particular "Political Fact Checking." The Boston Globe article was discredited before this analysis was done. Someone should inform the author that he hung himself and his institution out to dry, twisting in the wind.

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